Improvement in carriage-doors



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEOR GE KELLER, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO WOOD BROTHERS COB'IPANY,OF NEWT YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE-DOORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,058, dated February3, 1874; application filed Deeemberl, 1873.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that l, GEORGE KnLLNnn, of Iaris, in France, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Doors for Carri-ages, of which thefollowing is a specification:

In the accompanying drawing, Figures l and 2 respectively represent aside view and vertical section on line c c, Fig. 4, of my improvedcarriage-door in upright position; Fig. 3, a vertical section of thesaine, with the upper half folded down on the lower half; Fig. 1, afront View of the door with upper part thrown up; and Fig. 5, a detailvertical transverse section of the spring-catch and socket-plate, bywhich the hinged section is retained in position when thrown up.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre spending parts.

The objectot' my invention is to provide an improved folding door forthat class of carriages which are alternately thrown open and closed, sothat, for instance, the changing of a landau or landaulet into a bertinor brougham, and vice versa, combined with their stability and outsideappearance, may be obtained. Myinvention consists in constructing thedoor otl two sections, the upper halt` of which is hinged to the lowerhalt', swinging to the inside of the saine, both parts being providedwith guides for the window. The upper part locks, when thrown open, bymeans of spring-catch at one or both sides, into socketplates of thelower part, and produces thereby a rigid connection. of both halves,forming a complete door for closed or open use of the carriage.

ln the drawing, A represents the upper, A the lower, half of thecarriagedoor, which are hinged together at a a, so that the upper halfmay be folded down on the inside ofthe lower part. The window B slides,in the usual manner, in grooves l) along guide-strips b', resting, whenraised, on the upper cross-piece of the lower section A', when loweredin the easing ofthe same. rIhe outer shape or' both sections of the doorcorresponds to the curved form of the body ofthe carriage, while theinside shape is straight, to produce an intimate contact of The sectionswhen folded down. The upper section A is provided at one or both sideswith recesses d having metallic covering-plates d', to which thespring-catches c are attached. Spring-catch e has a disk or but-ton,f,which lits into a corresponding perforation, f', of the face-plate el,while its head e projects downward into a recess of the lower sectionA', locking over the recessed plate g of the same. The locking parts arepreferably applied at the sides of the upper section to be out of sight.

A iirni connection of the two sections of the door is therebyestablished, with the appearance and rigidity of a full door, allowingthe opening and closing and the use of the window, in the same manner asthe common carriage-doors; but whenever it is desirable to change thecarriage from the closed or covered position into the open one, thewindow is let down into the lower section, the door is swung open, sothat the disks of the springs may be pressed inwardly and the catchesdetached from the lower section, admitting thereby the folding down ofthe upper half onto the lower and the use of the folded door, exactly asthe doors of open carriages. In a few seconds the door may be changedagain into condition for closed use by turning the lower section inupright posit-ion till the spring-catches lock into the socket-plates.rIhe window may then be raised, and in this manner the door be appliedto supply the desidcratum of the publie-a carriage which may be readilychanged from an entirely closed state into an open one, and vice versa.

I am aware that convertible or folding carriagedoors are not broadlynew, and therefore -I do not' desire to claim the same; but

That I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is, viz:

1. For carriages which are int-ended to be changed from closed to openposition, and vice versa, the door constructed of two hinged sections,of which the ripper folds to the inside of the lower and guides thewindow, in the manner substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. rIhe combination of the ripper' section A, having spring-catches e eand covering-plates d', with the lower section A, to lock rigidlythereon in upright position, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 29th day ofOctober, 187 3.

GEORG-E KELLNER.

Witnesses:

l\I`. GUIoT, A. D. VERNNTT.

